Orbital Anomaly (Destiny 2 / SIGNALIS)

[Potato]

I have received messages that people may not be familiar with Destiny lore, since some readers come from the Signalis side of the crossover.

This is a summary of Destiny's lore.

---

Spoiler: Extremely Truncated Destiny Lore

Once upon before a time, there was a Garden. In the Garden there was a Gardener, who planted universes; and a Winnower, who reaped them. The Gardener didn't like that all universes eventually fell to the same pattern whereas the Winnower considered this majestic. Hence the Gardener injected herself into reality as a set of rules to disrupt this pattern, taking form as the Traveler. The Winnower, not to be outdone, did so as well, taking form as (probably) the Veil.

The Traveler is of Light, a wavelength of space magic concerning the material world. The Veil is of Darkness, a different wavelength of space magic concerning the mental world.

The Traveler is found by the Precursors. Through her blessings, they became prosperous, but sought meaning in a universe that didn't have it. The Traveler, despite their worship, never talked to them (she believes in ultimate free will - by talking to anyone, by offering guidance, she would be taking away their ability to choose). They became obsessed with the Final Shape, a complicated piece of philosophy about ending all suffering in reality by freezing all things in a moment in time.

The Precursors found the Veil, and attempted to link it to the Traveler to gain godlike power to reshape reality into the Final Shape. Only through linking the Traveler and the Veil are the Precursors able to gain control over the material (Light) and the mental (Dark). The Traveler disagrees and leaves. The Precursors, filled with anger, engage in mass suicide and link their minds with the Veil into a hive mind called the Witness - because it shall Witness the Final Shape of all reality. They make Disciples, devoted followers hell-bent on enacting the Final Shape.

For eons, the Traveler and Witness are locked in a cycle: the Traveler blesses a civilisation, the Witness and its Disciples arrive and genocide them, and the Traveler leaves.

Eventually, the Traveler finds Earth. She gives us a Golden Age. During the Golden Age, Exominds are created as a form of human immortality via transplanting human minds into machine bodies. Fran-11 is one such Exo. '11' means that he has been rebooted 10 times, prior to his resurrection. (If a person were made an Exo, their first designation is [Name]-1. A reboot iteratively increases this number. An Exo that has been rebooted once is [Name]-2, twice [Name]-3, et cetera.)

The Witness' forces arrive, and begin to genocide mankind. For some reason, the Traveler does not run. It stays, and repels the Witness. Savathûn, a Disciple candidate, kills Disciple Nezarec and steals the Veil to hide it on Neptune.

Injured, the Traveler falls unconscious, but not before creating Ghosts: little parcels of its power (the Light) to search out dead humans are resurrect them.

Humanity collapses into a Dark Age. Three groups of humans survive.

• On Earth, Light-bearing Warlords wreak havoc. Eventually, a group of Warlords called 'the Iron Lords' agree to use their powers for good, eventually leading to the construction of the Last City, somewhere in Peru (probably). The Iron Lords are wiped out (with two survivors) after they piss off Rasputin, a Golden Age defensive AI.
  • Lightbearers wield the Light, a form of space magic.
  • Unless their Ghosts are dead, they are immortal.
• On Neptune, survivors hide themselves on Neomuna. They find out that the Veil has been hidden on Neptune and use it as the basis of their technologies.
• In space, a group of humans emerge from a singularity after being caught between the Witness and the Traveler. Millions of years have passed within the singularity. They emerge as the Awoken to help their brethren in Sol.

The City Age begins. Earthbound humans consolidate in the Last City. Lightbearers become civilised, and are now sworn to protect mankind. They are called Guardians.

• Guardians have three Classes: Hunters, Warlocks and Titans.
• This is primarily a psychological thing. A Lightbearer could be all three, or none at all.
• It is a useful framework to learn the Light.

Around this time, aliens arrive in Sol.

• The Fallen, insectoid space pirates.
  • Their species is Eliksni.
  • They are salty that the Traveler abandoned them for humanity.
  • They are divided into factions called Houses.
• The Cabal, space turtle rhino Imperial Romans.
  • They are here to conquer Sol.
• The Vex, the original pattern that dominated all realities in the Garden Before Time.
• The Hive, a race of undead bugs that become more powerful when they kill.
  • They would have been blessed by the Traveler, but were instead tricked by the Witness and its minions into becoming servants of Darkness.
  • They hate the Light, viewing it as the antithesis of their philosophy, the Sword Logic, and come to kill us all.
  • Savathûn is one of the Big Three Hive Gods, she is of Cunning. Xivu Arath, of War; Oryx, King of the Hive.

The Guardian, the Main Character, is resurrected at an old Russian Cosmodrome. They will become legend.

---

As of the in-story calendar in Chapter 1, the Last City is searching for a path into the Traveler, after the Witness found the Veil on Neptune and carved a path into the Traveler enact its Final Shape. The Last City has become allies with the House of Light, a group of Eliksni led by Mithrax, Kell of Light. They seek peace with humanity unlike other Houses. The Last City has also become allied with the Imperial Cabal / Cabal Ascendancy, a group of Cabal lead by Empress Caiatl. The Imperial Cabal are refugees from what remains of the former Cabal Empire, after their homeworld and many territories were attacked and destroyed by Xivu Arath.

 

[Potato]

Don't feel sorry for the Storch. They do beat people to death.

 

[Fire=Shaman]

Don't feel sorry for the Storch. They do beat people to death.

Click to shrink...

Kick her while she's down. Retribution for the working class!

In all seriousness awesome work, hope the guys make it through. Who knows, maybe the new guns they find might even become somewhat popular amongst other Guardians. They seem to be those odd Soviet gems, too good for the place they were made for.

 

[Potato]

Fran unlocked a door with a flourish of Light, then stepped into a room to find Charlie buzzing around the restrained Storch. Her eyes turned to glare at Fran balefully, a quiet hate seeming to radiate from her very presence, clenched fists threatening bloody retaliation.

Fran-11 evaluated her before shrugging it off. Eh. I've seen angrier. Nothing beats an Ogre in meanness. He re-engaged the door's locks, then turned to speak to his Ghost. "Charlie. I heard you had an update for me?" He spoke in City-standard English, feeling the Replika's eyes on him.

Charlie turned away from the bound Replika and hovered over, digital eye blinking once. "Good news, and bad news. Which one do you want first?"

"I'll take the bitter pill first. Bad news."

"Bad news it is, then. I don't think I'll be able to get more out of her without permanently crippling her," the Ghost's voice took on a clinical tone. "The thinking parts of Replika biocomponents are locked down hard. Eusan has some serious cybersecurity for their bots, and the bioresonance that allows for personality-copying from a template human to a Replika seems to act like a secondary natural barrier against electronic intrusions."

"But just to be sure, could you do it?"

"Of course I can!" Charlie huffed. "Who do you think I am? I'm a Ghost, I've hacked Warmind and Vex systems, this pissant little machine is as much an obstacle to me as a Dreg is to Lord Shaxx. I'd bet my shell that even you could do it, with your Splicer arm. No, the trouble is not getting the info we want, it's leaving her mind intact."

"Her mind would be permanently damaged in the attempt?" Fran asked concernedly.

"Irreparably, by my estimate. We should leave her alive, for now – best not to limit our options, Fran."

"Hm. I'll pass it on to the rest of the Fireteam. And the good news?"

Charlie chuckled, an electronic warbling echoing from his shell. "Not all of her data storage has been so tightly locked away. I was able to get at her surface-level stuff. Most of it is minutiae, staff rosters and the like, but I did find something very useful."

Charlie's shell tilted forward as he moved in, until he was inches from Fran's visor. "There's a space elevator, here on Leng."
Fran started. "What? Here?!"
"I know!" the Ghost laughed. "I was so shocked when I found out. I thought that it must have been more of Eusan's obnoxious propaganda, but it's real. It's how this facility exports its factory products and ore, and how Eusan sends new supplies. Isn't that cool?! A real, functioning space elevator!" The Ghost flew in loops, iris wide.

"I know!" Fran felt a warm sense of excitement under his chest. "Most of the ones in Sol have been wrecked by the Collapse and the wars that followed. And here, somehow, these primitives with their cathode-ray screens and strangely backwards technologies have built one!"

"It's fantastic. We could get access to outer space, see if we can get a signal off. This really opens up our options!"

"Sure does," Fran said warmly. "Good job, Charlie. You did a really good job."

"Aw, you're making me blush."

"You can't, you're a Ghost," Fran retorted.

"And yet I feel like I am anyway."

"I'm contacting everyone else for a meeting. You coming?"
"Sure thing. Just a moment."

Charlie hovered over to the Storch, shell expanding as it fired a beam of Light into the Replika. It went cross-eyed for a moment before collapsing, like a puppet with its strings cut.

"Neat trick. What's that do?"

"Oh, I just turned them off. They can boot up just fine, I tested it. This makes this particular Replika less of a flight risk," Charlie hummed. "Complete shutdown confirmed. Let's get to that meeting."

---

Ding!

The elevator doors shuddered open, and the Guardians dashed out, firearms at the ready, before looking at the room in shock. Hafiz took a scan and sighed. "The rot's made its way here, too."

The reception area looked like an abattoir. Black-red Oxidant streaked the walls of the reception area. A headless Replika lolled in a plastic chair. A stray limb lay on the tiles, fingers clenched tight in rigor mortis on an Einhorn revolver. A Replika - bisected at the torso - perked up at their entrance and crawled over, teeth gnashing under a white veil. Hafiz gave it a nonplussed glare before stomping its skull flat in an explosion of gore.

"You've got to stop doing that, Sue," Wei Jie grimaced, taking point at a door. "Makes a damned mess." He peeked over the threshold. "We've got more incoming. Corrupted Replikas of a new kind." The HUD blinked once, radar now dotted with red pips.

"Do they have guns?" Hafiz asked.

"No…in fact, they don't seem to have arms, even. Just a really long snout," Wei Jie murmured.

Fran nodded. "Try to leave one alive. I want samples." He conjured a cloying tangle of Strand and cast it at the headless Replika, deconstructing it in a flash of green.

The three Guardians stepped through the door into a wider, T-shaped area that might've served as a waiting room in times past. Brightly-coloured propaganda posters hung from walls. Fluorescent tubes glowed dimly in their cradles. Furniture had been knocked over and the area stank of death. Numerous shambling Replikas wandered the area, each one gore-streaked and bloody. A few of the long-snouted ones shuffled towards them. Even without a face, each one of them radiated a visceral malice.

"Quite a few of them," Wei Jie idly noted.

"True, but none of them have been much of a threat," Fran noted nonchalantly, giving Arc Logic another once-over. He glanced over at Wei Jie. "Taking that cannon out for a spin, I see."

Wei Jie smiled even though no one could see it through the polarised visor.

"Still no reason to take this trivially. We still face an unknown paracausal force – and there must be a hundred in this room," a disapproving Hafiz tutted. "But that's enough talking. I'll take the front. Wei, take the left wing. Fran, the right."

"Let's make this more interesting. Guy with the least kills has to patrol the perimeter?" Wei Jie offered as he unholstered Einhorn from subspace.

"I'll take that bet," Fran smirked, before suddenly hurtling forward, Arc Logic blazing as an Arc Soul spun to life around his shoulder.

"Hey!" Wei Jie yelled, Einhorn up and roaring. "You're on!"

Hafiz rolled his eyes. "Children," he chuckled in exasperation as he stepped forward to smack a snouted Replika aside.

The three Guardians swept through the room like a storm. Fran danced and popped with Arc, bolts of lightning chaining between corrupted Replikas, Arc Logic a constant, rapid drumming. Wei Jie slid in and out of the Void, appearing from shadows and corners of sightlines to shiv Replikas before splitting skulls open with Einhorn's powerful retorts. Hafiz stepped confidently into the fray, Wastelander punching holes in Replika flesh in steady, rhythmic cracks. When anything got too close, Hafiz willed his Hammer to life and split Replikas in twain with searing Solar Light.

"These new guys sure are aggressive," Wei Jie grunted as he dodged to the side of a snouted Replika before retaliating with a stinging Arc punch. The creature screeched wetly and fell over twitching. A knife to its spinal column ended its suffering.

"They hit hard, too. So take them out before they get close," Hafiz said, deftly racking Wastelander's lever and unleashing hot buckshot into another shuffling android. "Still, they fall as easily as the rest." A kick collapsed another android to the ground, and Hafiz snapped its neck with his armoured boot.

"Remember to leave one for me to study later! There aren't any on this side of the room!" Fran called from the right end of the room. A thunderclap turned night to day for a brief second as Fran flash-cooked Replikas with Arc.

The battle continued, although 'slaughter' might have been more apt. Gore and oxidant splashed on walls as the Guardians shot, stabbed, punched and vapourised their way through the horde. But even so, more Replikas began to stream into the room from the adjacent areas.

Still, that was not a real problem for the trio.

"Looks like we've got this entire station's attention," Hafiz said, fist mulching a corrupted Eule's skull before smacking two charging Stars aside. "They must be attracted to sound."

"The more the merrier!" Fran laughed, Arc streams ripping Replikas to shreds. "Feels great to let loose and really stretch my legs!"

"It sure does. Sierpinski had been getting to me, but this is what I needed. I feel like a new Guardian," Wei Jie hummed, a fan of Solar knives slicing three Replikas open.

But all good things came to an end as a thumping sound echoed through the chamber. Electronic growling came over the comms for a moment as a large, bulky mass entered through a doorway, a long-barreled cannon slung over its shoulder. Fran saw it first.

"We've got a new hostile! Large mass, likely heavily armoured, armed with a high-calibre weapon of some variety," he called out, an electronic tag highlighting the new target in yellow on radar.

Instantly, the mood changed. The almost relaxed sense of competition vanished, replaced by an acute sense of danger that almost screamed at the three Guardians.

"I see him. Definitely anti-tank or anti-air," Wei Jie concurred. "Kill it before he can get any one of us – that thing most definitely would kill us if it hit us centre-mass." He leaned back to dodge a knife, then scrambled to reload the Einhorn. "I'm pinned here. Someone else get the big guy!"

"I'll handle it," Hafiz grunted as he shoulder-checked a Replika to the side, dashing forwards to the hulk in thumping steps, headbutting another shambling corpse to the side.

With speed belying its bulk, the hulk hefted the cannon onto its shoulder, a green laser switching on as it aimed the cannon. It looked at the rapidly approaching Hafiz, paused its shuddering breaths for a moment before squeezing a trigger.

A red-hot tracer screamed forth in a deafening boom, punching into Hafiz's arm in a spray of blood. Hafiz grunted in pain, calling a pulse of healing Solar Light as he continued to sprint at the target.

"Sue!"

"I'm fine. Just a flesh wound," Hafiz panted as he closed in towards the hulk. He experimentally flexed his fingers – the Solar Light hadn't fully fixed his arms, but at least his bones were in one piece again. "You're dead now!"

A large grenade launcher manifested into his arms from subspace. A quick glance at the ammo counter – loaded and ready. Hafiz sent Sidonia a pulse of gratitude before readying the grenade launcher, optical sight trained onto the groaning mass.

With cyclical thumps, Blast Battue spat seven sparking Arc explosives onto the target, obscuring it from sight in a cloud of dust.

"Is it dead?!" Wei Jie asked.

The green laser flashed on again, cutting through the smoke. Another high-velocity shot slammed forth, missing Hafiz by mere inches.

"Just our luck for something like this to show up. Hafiz, if your grenade launcher couldn't kill it–"

"Yeah. It must be clad in enough steel composite to armour ten kinder-Guardians. Fran, I need you to keep the smaller guys off of us. I'll keep its attention. Wei, I need your linear–"

"I know! I'll nail it with my linear rifle. I just need you to find me a weak spot and a clean line of fire!" Wei Jie called, dismissing his Hand Cannon and calling Corsair's Wrath into his hands. Fran nodded affirmatively, calling forth the roiling thunder in him to disintegrate another Replika.

The giant spun around with surprising agility, nearly nailing Hafiz with its massively armoured gauntlet. Hafiz leaned back, dodging the punch as he slammed buckshot into its armoured visor to little effect beyond lightly denting the steel.

He kept his mind calm, weaving and dodging as he kept the hulk away, a wary eye watching its cannon. Find a weak spot, he chanted to himself as he scanned its armour with a keen eye. As the giant readied its shoulder-fired cannon a second time, Hafiz's eyes quickly spotted a spot of grey under-armour as it adjusted its arms to get a shot off at Hafiz.

"Wei!" he shouted. "I've got your weak spot. Every time this guy moves, his armour plating shifts and his second layer becomes visible. If you can edge those shots, that would–"

"Say less!" Wei Jie retorted. "I've hit smaller. Now give me my opportunity, Sue!"

Hafiz dodged the cannon as it spat another bolt of hot death. It only just missed Hafiz, burning a groove into his armour. Hafiz winced and called Solar Light into his fist, willing his Hammer into realspace and slamming it into the creature's head.

The thing grunted, raising a hand to re-adjust its helmet before a magnetically accelerated round slammed into its armpit. It growled before swivelling around, cannon beginning to aim at Wei Jie.

"I'm your opponent!" Hafiz shouted as he slammed two loads of buckshot into the thing's back. It turned back to him, malice shining through its opaque helmet, attention now fully focused on the Titan.

The two danced a deadly tango, trading blows as Wei Jie sniped it with his Linear Fusion Rifle. Eventually, even Fran had started to join in, taking potshots with his machine gun. Fran's mind was clear as he baited the hulk into exposing its weaknesses, attention fully focused on avoiding the hulk's punches. And after what seemed like an hour, the hulk finally keeled over, ichor leaking from its many puncture wounds.

Hafiz collapsed onto the floor, panting. Sweat had thoroughly soaked into the padding of his armour. He unlocked his helmet with a click, taking gasping breaths as he lay motionless. The air still stank of rot, but he couldn't care less at that moment. Fran and Wei Jie ran forward, scrambling over the other in a rush to check his vitals. Hafiz grunted and shooed them off with a protest of "I'm just tired, is all." But the Fireteam's stubborn Warlock eventually wore him down, and Fran began to poke and prod the Titan as swirling Light sealed Hafiz's wounds and returned energy to his body.

Another Replika burned as Wei Jie called another Solar flare to burn a soon-to-be reanimated corpse. "Why the hell are there so many here?" he growled. "There weren't nearly this many down on Leng."

"That we know of. Sierpinski stretches hundreds of metres into the ground. For all we know there could be entire armies of shambling Replikas beneath our feet," Fran reasoned, eye on his multitool as Charlie helped conduct his own scans.

The tool beeped once, and Charlie hovered over to get a look. Charlie nodded once before dematerialising. Fran pulled on Hafiz, pulling the two of them together onto their feet.

"Scans all seem to read OK. Just take it easy for a while, Hafiz. Consider it my professional opinion."

"Fine," Hafiz said. He looked around him, at the multitude of corpses on the ground. The Fireteam had barely just came to Leng Orbital and already they were all bone-tired. So much to do, and so little time.

"Alright, gentlemen," Hafiz declared. "Destroy all these bodies – except that Storch – and let's evac. We'll come here tomorrow. Hopefully there'll be fewer of these fellows here tomorrow morning."

Fran nodded at him, walking off to work on destroying the Replika bodies. Hafiz turned around to look at the hulking figure that had attacked him. He read its designation - SAPR.

"Never heard of it," he murmured as he inspected its form. Fran had already taken the liberty of vaporising its inner flesh and biocomponents, leaving its armour behind. True to his initial impression, the thing was clad in more armour than it had flesh. He gave the shell an experimental kick. The entire thing didn't even budge.

Hafiz's eyes were drawn to the gun that now rested on the floor. He knelt to take it in – it was some form of railgun, loaded with 40mm rounds. It packed a punch. In a sudden urge of curiosity, he grabbed the weapon's handles and hefted it onto his own shoulder, peering down its somewhat antiquated sights. He racked the weapon's charging handle, and felt the weapon engage with a satisfying clack.

"Nice gun?" Wei Jie asked. Though he couldn't see it, Hafiz was certain that Wei Jie was grinning. Hafiz lowered the weapon, a smaller smile on his face.

"It needs work. To begin with, a weight reduction would be a great. But yes. This is a nice gun."

---

WEAPONS ACQUISITIONS:​

STAHLREGEN EXOTIC MACHINE GUN It must be the fault of the damned thing. Send as many forces as it takes. This infection must be contained.

Spoiler: Author's Note

SAPR makes a surprise entrance. Of course, something built for anti-tank work is going to be a little harder to beat. And yes, I was inspired by the Helldivers 2 autocannon.

 

[Twei]

"Hey!" Fran yelled, Einhorn up and roaring. "You're on!"

Click to shrink...

I think this Fran is supposed to be Wei Jie?

I like using the SAPR as a way to raise the stakes. It's free real estate!

 

[Engineer455]

neat chapter, seeing the SAPR show up was cool too.
Checks out that they'd be as mean as they are, probably weigh about as much if not more than a damn Cabal Goliath too, what with how they're mostly armor and hydraulics with a relatively smaller amount of meat bits inside.

WEAPONS ACQUISITIONS:

STAHLREGEN EXOTIC ROCKET LAUNCHER It must be the fault of the damned thing. Send as many forces as it takes. This infection must be contained.

Click to shrink...

wonder what element it'd be.
What with how it's a railgun I'm leaning towards Arc.

 

[Ardion Prosili]

So if I'm getting this right, this fireteam found their way to Leng, wherein Arianne is basically a psychic ghost being assaulted by Darkness-Witness forces (probs Taken) due to bioresonance being a mental ergo Darkness thing?

Neat if I'm wrong, neat if I'm right. Watching~!

 

[Engineer455]

So if I'm getting this right, this fireteam found their way to Leng, wherein Arianne is basically a psychic ghost being assaulted by Darkness-Witness forces (probs Taken) due to bioresonance being a mental ergo Darkness thing?

Click to shrink...

from what I can tell this is mostly correct.
the bit about the embodiment of every "im14andthisisdeep" nihilist fucking with Ariane's head is a maybe.
Whatever the Red Eye is, it might also be behind this.
I've heard theories that it represents the eye of the Nation, what with how after fiddling with some video/color settings on the game/recordings of the game, you can see a red eye overlaying the screen in the entirety of S-23 (but not in the areas that are definitely part of Ariane's Psychic Nightmare Hellspace and as such outside of normal reality), and S-23 also has the cameras fucking everywhere.
There's also how most of the direct, spelled out info on the Eye is coming from Rotfront legends and such.
Rotfront, the frozen moon of the gas giant the eye is on.
Now, a frozen moon orbiting a gas giant with a huge storm on it that appears red?
Sounds familiar.
Wonder where I've heard of that before.

Taking these bits of evidence into account, in this theory the eye both represents the Nation watching the recordings showing how S-23 (also possibly all/a lot of the other facilities on Leng) went to hell in a handbasket, and the Great Red Spot.
Of course, this is one theory.
Most of the other ones I've heard typically are of the opinion that some form of extremely powerful entity is behind this, an entity who's general "motif" seems to be a red eye.
It might be the Empress, it might be Ariane, it might be Something Else, who knows.

I personally am mostly of the "the Eye is the Nation watching" camp, but that's more personal preference than anything.
At the very least I more prefer the idea that the Eye is something from inside the system, mostly because for the most part there aren't any hints about any sort of alien life/intelligences, so the idea that it's some form of 3d party entity is a bit out of left field instead of it being representative of either Ariane, or the Empress (who might be dead? and would probably have good reason to cause a potentially-huge catastrophe that'd fuck over the Eusan Nation).

 

[JmonsterNEO]

Seems that SAPRs take to the corruption better than the MNHRs. That one certainly wasn't taking breaks to purge its liquified insides mid-fight.

 

[Ylamona]

Correct me if I am wrong but isn't there a sole survivor KLBR still hiding somewhere? If so, hopefully the fireteam can rescue em.

 

[Fire=Shaman]

Correct me if I am wrong but isn't there a sole survivor KLBR still hiding somewhere? If so, hopefully the fireteam can rescue em.

Click to shrink...

Yep, there is a poor Kobibi hiding in the Library, being traumatized. Hopefully our heroes can save her!

 

[Ylamona]

Yep, there is a poor Kobibi hiding in the Library, being traumatized. Hopefully our heroes can save her!

Click to shrink...

I think there is also a MNHR but KLBR definitely a more time sensitive one simply because how fragile they are and how utterly dangerous her situation one. When your power (and sisters basically) suddenly become your own possible doom...

 

[Undead-Spaceman]

I think there is also a MNHR but KLBR definitely a more time sensitive one simply because how fragile they are and how utterly dangerous her situation one. When your power (and sisters basically) suddenly become your own possible doom...

Click to shrink...

If I'm remembering right: There's the KLBR in the library, a EULR in the Medical Wing, and the mines have another EULR and a wounded STAR in addition to the MNHR.

 

[Potato]

Spoiler: Author's Note

No more chapters for a while. Semester finals are here.

The next day after the battle, the fireteam began their preparations for another foray into Leng Orbital. They chatted and bantered in the conference room, pointing out the tactical errors the others made in yesterday's battle and taking notes on their own performance. Fran-11 elaborated on the new Replika he'd dissected, apparently an extreme mutation of the STCR androids and just as violent. But, thankfully, it wasn't immune to a "lobotomy by bullet," as Fran dryly noted. Then, discussion moved to the armored Replika that had taken the fireteam by surprise.

"SAPR, apparently. No clue what it's supposed to mean," Hafiz informed them. Its armored shell was tough and unyielding, made of an alloy similar in strength to the stuff Fallen Brigs were made of. More notably, it was very much unlike the other Replikas they'd met – Fran noted that the SAPR was more machine than flesh, even for a Replika. If they ever met another SAPR and wanted to take it out, they'd need extreme armour penetration.

The Guardians were painfully aware that they weren't well-equipped to take down armored targets. Fran reasoned that it hadn't been their fault – no one brought heavy armour-piercing weapons when boarding spaceships, not even Guardians, for fear of puncturing the ship's armour and flushing them into the unforgiving vacuum of space – but they had set out to rectify the problem as quickly as possible.

Hafiz suggested bringing his newly acquired heavy weapon, but its power draw was too high for his armour to supply, and even the formidable Titan struggled to aim and fire the weapon, field drivers whining in protest as he shouldered the weapon for the first time. Wei Jie sighed and Fran shook his head at the sight. The weapon would need extensive remodelling to make it man-portable, and it definitely wasn't an option for the next battle.

Eventually, the fireteam settled on modifying Wei Jie's Linear Fusion Rifle, a decision that he was none too happy about.

"Do you know what this is?" Wei Jie said, clutching Corsair's Wrath like it was his baby. "This is part of a set of custom made weapons, specially ordered by – well, I can't tell you about the client or the foundry, Praxic business and all that – but this is a work of art. It shoots smooth-as-butter, its recoil compensation is top-notch, and it barely leaves any residue after regular use."
Fran and Hafiz shared a look. "Wei," Fran gently said, hands open, "Corsair's Wrath isn't that good. There are better Linears out there. Plus, I'd only need to tinker with its power draw to get its armour-piercing up, and–"

"And you want to butcher it?!" Fran interrupted furiously. "Can't we just modify your machine gun? That old thing–"

After an argument that led nowhere and a scuffle that involved Void Light, a suplex, and scoldings from exasperated Ghosts, Fran had given up the weapon, but only after extracting a promise that the Warlock and Titan owed him a new Linear once they got back to Sol.

---

The fireteam stepped out as the elevator doors creaked open a second time. The trio walked into the foyer of the derelict Leng Orbital, weapons up, but unlike their first foray, all was quiet, save for the buzzing of fluorescent lamps and the hum of carbon dioxide scrubbers. Fran-11 stepped over a pile of gore, electronic scanners buzzing and whining. He fiddled with an arm-mounted display before gesturing to the next room.

"Area is clear. No signs of life ahead. Our encounter yesterday must have eliminated the vast majority of them," he reported over comms. Hafiz nodded, and Wei Jie gave an affirmative thumbs-up. The fireteam pressed on, moving over the signs of carnage from yesterday's frenetic, but short-lived, battle. The concrete floor was pitted and scarred, dried oxidant stained the room a dark maroon and mounds of charred Replikas lay on the ground, rendered inert by the liberal application of destructive Light.

Hafiz took point, Wastelander pointed straight ahead, armored footsteps sure and certain. In the middle, Fran stepped cautiously, Arc Logic scanning their blind spots as electronic sensors methodically scanned their surroundings. Wei Jie lurked behind, Corsair's Wrath humming in his hands; a blocky shape protruded from its receiver as a result of a quick-and-dirty modification done by Fran.

"Poor thing," Wei Jie murmured as he gently patted the Linear Fusion Rifle.

A tired sigh. "For the last time, Wei, shut up about the rifle."

"Up yours, Sue."

The fireteam searched the adjoining rooms. Nothing but more dead Replikas. Fran's Ghost took quick scans of the various silent computers for them to peruse later. A lucky find by Wei Jie revealed the way forward to Leng Orbital's command deck. Finally, at the end of a long, deserted corridor, they eventually reached a large, armored shutter with Eusan script lining its surface. Hafiz lowered his shotgun as he squinted at the inscriptions.

"What's it say?"

Fran hummed as he scanned the text. "Warning labels. 'Door only to be unsealed under the orders of so-and-so', 'Failure to follow instructions is treason', 'Tampering with this doorway is punishable by something-or-other. But more importantly, it leads to the command deck of this station."

Fran materialised Charlie in his palm. Charlie flew forwards, scanning the barrier and the adjacent computer terminal with rays of Light. It zipped back to Fran, shell twisting.

"The door's control circuits have been physically severed. I suspect that whoever's behind this barrier–" Charlie gestured to the shutter, "–purposely destroyed its mechanisms to stop anyone else from coming through. You'll have to cut it open."

"Thanks, Charlie," Fran said as Charlie dematerialised. He put a palm on the barrier, then turned to Hafiz. "For some reason, I'm not feeling the usual sense of foreboding when I try to cut open a locked door down on Leng. Watch my back."

The Hunter and Titan stood in a protective line behind Fran. The Warlock drew a Dawnblade, briefly lighting the room with warm orange before Fran forced the Dawnblade into a shape more akin to a bayonet.

Fran sank the blade into the armored shutter. Whatever constituted the shutter gave way like snow under a hot poker as the Dawnblade ate into the metal. Almost immediately, a klaxon began to roar, red emergency lights painting the corridor a sinister shade. Shrieks echoed from around them as Fran continued to cut.

"We've got the attention of whatever's still on this station!" Wei Jie called, dismissing Corsair's Wrath into his backpack and calling forth a Hand Cannon.

"I've got multiple returns on radar. Someone turn off that blasted alarm before we draw in any more of whatever that is!" Hafiz called as he racked Wastelander's lever.

"On it," Sparkle said, materialising at Wei Jie's shoulder. He flitted over to the terminal, beams of Light lancing from his eye into the computer.

After several tense moments, floor panels in the corridor were thrown to the side to reveal grotesquely disfigured Replikas. Bloated arms clambered over each other as they moaned from bulbous heads, heedless of their injuries. Through eyeless heads, they seemed to look straight at the fireteam, malice radiating from their mangled bodies as they scrambled out of the breach.

Hafiz growled. "Fran, double time it. Wei, fire at will!"

Titan and Hunter stood shoulder to shoulder as they picked off the encroaching horde. For every Replika that the Guardians killed, another seemed to take its place, pulling off wall panels to crawl into the corridor. Oxidant splashed onto the walls as Hafiz pumped buckshot into the horde; limbs flew and heads exploded as Wei Jie slammed armour-piercing slugs into the enemy.

But the horde continued to close the distance, climbing over their own dead as they pursued the fireteam in a maddened frenzy, spittle spraying from their screaming maws. Hafiz squinted as he blasted another Replika with buckshot, then turned briefly to check Fran's progress.

"At this rate, we're going to be overrun," he growled over comms. "I'm going to use my grenade launcher. Watch out for the shockwave!"

Wei Jie nodded. He dropped to a knee to brace his Hand Cannon as he paused to reload with one hand, his other hand flinging a pair of grenades into the crowd, vaporising another group of Replikas in swirling Void.

Hafiz placed Wastelander onto the concrete floor, then materialised Blast Battue. He gave it a quick check – ammo fully loaded. He sent a pulse of gratitude to Sidonia before shouldering the bulky, metal-framed grenade launcher. As the launcher deployed its optics, Hafiz glanced downrange, adjusted his stance, and depressed the trigger.

With rhythmic, echoing thumps, the grenade launcher sent three parking Arc projectiles at the horde. They slammed into the horde before exploding in a splash of blinding light. The shockwave buffered the fireteam, sending Wei Jie's cloak fluttering and causing Fran to briefly stumble.

"Yeah! Cry havoc! Wooo!" Wei Jie cheered as secondary Arc explosions blasted Replika bodies apart.

But as the dust cleared, it was clear that they hadn't seen the last of the horde. More Replikas poured from the vents and cracks, scrambling towards the Guardians with howls and shrieks. Heedless of the danger, Hafiz continued to shoot, sending screaming Arc explosives into the enemy force.

"Fran, Sparkle, I need a sitrep!" Hafiz yelled, dropping the launcher's drum and slamming another drum into the weapon.

"I've just about got it!" came the Warlock's harried reply. "I'm…almost…done!"

"Same here," the Ghost answered. There was a click, before the alarm turned off. "I've shut down the alarm – that should stop any more of these freaks from coming over."

Fran dismissed the miniature Dawnblade and smashed the barrier, punching a hole clean through. "I've got it. Let's go!"

Wei Jie nodded, throwing two tripwires into the crowd before sliding under the breach, Sparkle smoothly dematerialising next to him. Fran and Hafiz did the same, before Fran sealed the hole shut with Stasis crystals. The fireteam stood, listening as the horde threw themselves against the barrier to no avail. Eventually, the scratching and wailing stopped, and whatever was on the other side of the barrier lost interest and shuffled off.

Only then did the trio relax; Fran sighed as he released his control over the Stasis crystal. He peered through the hole as he watched the Replikas disappear back into the vents and the walls. He shuddered at the thought that any of those things could appear at any moment.

"Alright, everyone – sitrep," Hafiz said.

With Fran and Wei Jie confirming that they were ready to go, the Fireteam proceeded. Past the armored shutter, the structure of Leng Orbital radically changed. The walls and floors were replaced by metal plating. The constantly-present propaganda posters were gone, and so were the oppressive CCTVs that seemed to litter every space on Leng. They remained alert, however – there could still be more angry undead in this area.

Past an abandoned security post (where Wei Jie stole another box of Einhorn cartridges), they found themselves at one last door before the command deck. The fireteam stood next to the door, weapons ready as they prepared to breach.
STIRB STIRB STIRB STIRB STIRB
Hafiz stuck his fingers out to them, counting down: three, two one – at the last finger, Hafiz swung around kicked the door open, the other two Guardians hot on his heels.
STIRB STIRB STIRB STIRB STIRB
He got a glance into the room, before pain exploded behind his eyes.
STIRB STIRB STIRB STIRB STIRB
And that's when the screeching started.

 

[Tamarind]

Oooh, are these the Kalibri?

 

[Twei]

"And you want to butcher it?!" Fran interrupted furiously. "Can't we just modify your machine gun? That old thing–"

Click to shrink...

I think this Fran is supposed to be Wei Jie, again - unless this is supposed to be a subtle hint about identity collapse lol

With rhythmic, echoing thumps, the grenade launcher sent three sparking Arc projectiles at the horde. They slammed into the horde before exploding in a splash of blinding light. The shockwave buffered the fireteam, sending Wei Jie's cloak fluttering and causing Fran to briefly stumble.

Click to shrink...

typo!

A command deck does seem like a place to find Kolibri, although - were they on the ground at one point? Hmmmmm....

 

[ShadowAngelBeta]

Huh, this will be an interesting lore clash.

Arianne is, depending on your take on the lore, either very powerful or has too much momentum at this point and is overrunning reality in more than a few spots.

But Ghosts and Guardians are basically taking their own metaphysical systems around with them rather than relying on reality to have their back all the time, cause sometimes it doesn't.

Also that's an Ooph on running into the psychic screamers/relays.

 

[Potato]

typo!

Click to shrink...

Nah, heavy GLs can be automatic, ie, single press of trigger causes multiple discharges. With a good trigger finger, a Guardian could send three nades downrange.

And if you're wondering why the mag size is inconsistent, well Blast Battue can get the perk Clown Cartridge.

 

[Twei]

Nah, heavy GLs can be automatic, ie, single press of trigger causes multiple discharges.

Click to shrink...

It was 'tree' when I read it, I swear, you must have fixed it by the time you responded

 

[Potato]

// TOWER IN MY DREAMS. FIGHT KILL FIGHT KILL FIGHT KILL DIE AWAKEN KILL
# Beyond the Sun, in the Dark behind the Stars I saw the face of a god—
["Fran? Fran, can you hear me?! Shit, his brainwaves are all over the place…"]
{Looks like my message is coming through.}
// BITING FREEZING PIERCING COLD COLD COLD COLD COLD
# I saw the six sides of the world unfold and light swallowed me—
["These damned things are starting to piss me off! Get up, Wei!"]
{My name is Ariane Yeong. I need your help.}
// DISSOCIATIVE EXOMIND REJECTION. YOU'VE GOT IT, FRAN. YOU KNOW WHAT COMES NEXT.
# Light swallowed me—"
["...Solar doesn't work."]
{This planet – no, this system – is in danger.}
// AM I STILL FRANCISZEK? I STILL DREAM OF HOME. OF MOTHER'S COOKING. OF POLAND. WARM SOUP. LAUGHING WITH MY FAMILY. BUT I CAN'T EVEN REMEMBER THEIR FACES ANYMORE.
# I had become one with nothing, where Life and Death are meaningless—
["What the hell are these things? It's even hurting me when I try to look at them! These signals are also all kinds of weird. Is this what bioresonance is capable of?"]
{The force you call Darkness is here.}
// WHY CAN'T I BREATHE WHERE'S MY SKIN WHERE'S MY SKIN SKIN SKIN PEEL PEEL PEEL RIP OPEN I'M TRAPPED
# And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal—
["I'm going to modify the Arc wavelengths in the Crown. Try and see if it'd block some of…whatever this is!"]
{It's attempting to invade my mind.}
// 8 REPETITIONS. HOW MUCH HAVE I LOST? HOW HOW HOW HOW
# Lo, there was a great earthquake—
["Sid, Sparkles, get over here and lend me a hand."]
{Steal my secrets. Understand my power.}
// 2082 VOLANTIS, ALSO CALLED THE FORGE STAR, IS IS IS VEX ENDLESS VEX
# The sun became black as hair, the moon as blood—
["How do you know that this'll work?"]
{Its minions batter at the walls.}
// DAMN THAT BASTARD CLOVIS DAMN YOU DAMN YOU DAMN YOU
# Strange is the night where dark stars rise—
["I don't. I'm working off a hunch. But it's the best chance we've got."]
{Find me beyond the Gate.}
// EVENTIDE IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE. THE COFFEE'S NOT BAD, EITHER. TOO BAD THAT CLOVIS BRAY IS HERE, TOO.
# Strange moons circle through the sky—
["Alright, Charlie, I'm boosting the Crown's power draw."]
{If the worst comes to pass–}
// BANSHEE ALWAYS SEEMS SO FAMILIAR WHO WHO WHO WHO WHO
# Song of my soul, my voice is dead—
["Sparky here. Circuit 4B has overloaded. I'm re-directing current through 4D."]
{Elster will keep her promise. It's for the best.}
// COTARD'S DELUSION IS A MENTAL DISORDER WHERE DEATH DEATH DEATH DEATH
# Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed—
["Try this frequency."]
{One last thing: watch out for Fa—}
// I SLAM ANOTHER MAGAZINE INTO THE RIFLE. ANOTHER VEX ROUNDS THE CORNER AND—

Three blurry shapes. And that awful screeching. Feels like my ear canal is getting drilled out.

["Got a response. He's stabilising."]

Where am I? L–L–something. Lem?

["Pupils are tracking. I've got consciousness."]

Ling? No, that's not quite right. Len. Leng. Leng.

["Looks like the Crown is blocking the signal. Fran's waking up."]

Leng. Leng Orbital. What the…? Crap!

Fran bolted upright, panting. He felt his entire body tingling, a harsh buzzing between his ears as a whining tone with no source hummed incessantly – strangely the sound seemed to come from everywhere at once.

Fran kept his eyes shut as the fireteam's three ghosts flitted about his head nervously. He experimentally flexed his fingers. His digits were sluggish and unresponsive, and his body, for the first time he could ever remember, felt…unwell?

He held up a trembling finger, silencing Charlie who had been babbling status reports at him. Fran looked within and pulled on his Light, but strangely, it felt reluctant. He felt surprise bubble up from inside him. That was new. Light came easily to the Warlock, even when he had been a New Light all those years ago. The sensations were different, but it almost felt like he was—

Back in the Hellmouth?

Fran's resolve hardened, teeth clenching. This was the final nail in the coffin of the mystery paracausal force that had been haunting their every step. The Darkness was definitely here on Leng. He could almost hear its nonsensical whispers, just beyond the edge of perception.

And that other voice. It sounded feminine. What was it? He could barely remember her messages. Was that part of the Darkness? Or something else trying to speak to him? What was the…Gate?

He took a break and focussed. There would be time for theorycrafting later. Not here, on an active battlefield.

Fran rose to his feet, Arc Logic in his hands. He flushed himself with Solar light to dispel some of his unsteadiness. It didn't fully work – probably the work of the Darkness force here, he mused. He turned to survey the command deck. Hafiz and Wei Jie were still out cold, and he couldn't quite look at the…things sitting in console chairs, writhing and convulsing, without his headache worsening.

First things first. He had to eliminate the threat to his Fireteam. Then, when the enemy were dead, he'd slice one apart to see how they ticked.

"Lucky it was here…if it were anywhere else, all of us would need rezzing," he mused, considering his options. The command deck was well-isolated from the rest of Leng Orbital. Thankfully no other deranged Replikas had caught onto their presence.

"Fran?" came a nervous Charlie. Behind Charlie, Sidonia and Sparkles hovered and shared skittish side-eyes.

"I'm here. Still me," Fran said, raising a palm and beckoning Charlie over. The uncertain Ghost settled into his palm. Fran gently stroked Charlie's shell until he relaxed.

"Charlie, I need you to tell me how you got me awake. Oh, and how I was incapacitated," Fran said urgently, wrist monitor up as he began environmental scans. His teammates were still out cold. "And why Hafiz and Wei are still knocked out."

"Sure thing, Fran. The things over there–" Charlie gestured to the twitching, swollen masses, "–they're transmitting an electronic signal with strong paracausal effects. It appears to be a direct telepathic attack."

Charlie hovered over Fran's wrist monitor, a beam momentarily projecting from his eye into the device. Two graphs appeared on-screen, one white and one red.

"I was able to modulate the Arc frequencies in the Crown to act like a Faraday cage to block out their transmissions. The signal itself is paracausal but luckily, it behaves much like any other radio. Blocking it out seems to have ended its effects on you."

"Thanks, Charlie, you're the best," Fran nodded. "Those things are transmitting, right? I want to see if I can't communicate with them. Maybe they're not hostile, and this is just a side effect of their attempts to communicate. Send me their frequencies."

Charlie bobbed in an approximation of a nod. The wrist computer updated to show the signalling frequency.

Fran tapped the monitor, activating its transmitter and turning it to that same frequency. "Hello?" he spoke into his helmet mic.

No response. His teammates remained unconscious. The twitching bodies continued to writhe and groan.

"Maybe this thing's not strong enough," Fran murmured, channelling more Arc into the wrist computer. He boosted its transmisssion strength, and spoke again, "Hello, can you–"

The thing screamed, tensed and then fell still, its bulbous head popping like an overripe melon. The creature's pallid scalp ripped open, viscera and pulp erupting in a spray of dark-red oxidant. The three other bodies vanished in a flash of static as the scream pierced the silence of the room, a spike of pain lancing through Fran as it passed through him.

A moment passed in shock.

"I killed it?" Fran said.

"There was only one all along?" Charlie puzzled.

"I wasn't expecting that," Sparkles added.

"Useful," chimed in Sidonia.

Fran shook his head. "Bloody hell…in any case, at least we now know how to kill one of whatever those things are if we ever encounter another."

He turned to the other two Ghosts. "See to your Guardians. Charlie and I are going to see if we can extract anything useful from this thing."

He stepped forward with Charlie towards the corpse. He slung his rifle on his back took a knee, careful to avoid the pool of greyish-red fluid that sluggishly leaked from the body.

"Charlie, multitool please," Fran said, palm facing up as he surveyed the creature. A familiar weight settled into his hand.

Humanoid, relatively short, even child-like. Size may be a cost-saving measure in regards to manufacturing bioresonant Replikas?

Fran patted down the Replika, finding a holster. Protektor-model sidearm, he thought as he extracted the weapon and racked its slide. It had recently seen use – carbon laced the gun's chamber.

He rapped on the Replika's chest plating. Somewhat armored – expected to see combat, maybe?

Fran turned his head to check on his teammates. Sparkle and Sidonia hovered about their Guardians, who remained unresponsive. He shrugged and returned to the corpse. Looks like I've got time, Fran thought as he began to cut.

Anything to ignore the visions he saw.


A/N: Weird things happen when you expose an Exo to bioresonance.

 

[Fire=Shaman]

Awesome new chapter. Poor exo dude, he got hit by an angry Kobibi.

 

[Potato]

Awesome new chapter. Poor exo dude, he got hit by an angry Kobibi.

Click to shrink...

In return he accidentally'd her head

 

[Potato]

Wei Jie suddenly recoiled, a beam of light slicing though his mind. He blinked rapidly, confusion filling him as he struggled to sit up, his limbs heavy like lead. A dull ache pounded behind his eyes. Ringing filled his ears, and he tasted bile on his tongue.

"Thank the Traveler you're fine," Sparkle's relieved voice echoed in his mind as he winced. "Take it easy. You've been out of it for a while."

"A little softer, please," Wei Jie groaned. The headache pulsed as he squeezed his eyes shut.

"Ah, sorry," Sparkle answered apologetically. "Is this better?" he asked again.

"Yes, thank you," Wei Jie huffed. He experimentally opened an eye – his helmet had been removed while unconscious, it seemed – and immediately slammed his eye back shut, the overhead fluorescent lamps appearing to shine as bright as one of Ana's Golden Gun shots.

"Too bright," he complained. There was a buzz of transmat as his helmet rematerialised on his head. The humming of Leng Orbital and the indoor lighting had thankfully been suppressed by the helmet. He sent a pulse of warm appreciation to Sparkle.

After a minute of adjusting, he found the energy to speak. "What happened?"

"Long story. I should let the Warlock explain. He and Charlie know more than I or Sidonia do on this issue. He's been cutting up the thing that knocked you all out."

Wei Jie nodded, flushing Solar energies through his body. The discomfort lessened, and he stood back up. He could see Fran-11 slice away at a bulbous, fleshy object, occasionally pausing to take notes on his wrist computer or store samples in airtight containers. Gore and blood were splattered all around them. The thing had been peeled open, its grotesquely oversized head looking like the world's worst flower in bloom. Charlie hovered around Fran, taking scans of the body. The two spoke in low tones. Sidonia and Hafiz were nowhere to be found.

Wei Jie unholstered his cannon and checked it before holstering it again, then took unsteady steps towards the Warlock.

Fran paused, hands elbow deep in the thing's guts, dark red oxidant staining his robes. He looked at Wei Jie and nodded. Wei Jie returned a half-hearted wave.

"You're awake, that's good. How do you feel?" the Warlock said as he continued to rummage inside of the creature, extracting bright blue bio-components and laying them neatly on the floor.

"Like I've just gone two rounds back-to-back against Shaxx," Wei Jie sighed. "Feels worse than that one mission on the Moon. What exactly is this thing?"

Fran paused, then began to lecture as he continued his dissection. "Another corrupted Replika. It's called a KLBR, or Kolibri. I think one of us mentioned it in a briefing earlier this week."

He paused to extract his hand from the creature to tap its bloated cranium. "This one's been mutated to a significant degree. Intracranial and spinal tumours of all kinds – teratomas, even. Seems like the mutation amplified its bioresonant abilities, although I don't exactly know how."

Wei Jie grimaced. The Kolibri was ugly from far, and up close, it looked even worse. Its body was a mass of greyish tissue that bulged from seams in its armour. The tumours had been so extensive that even its eyes had been covered with fleshy growths. If it hadn't just sent him and his Fireteam to sleep, he might even have felt a little pity for it.

"So how did these knock us out?" Wei asked, pausing before finishing, "And how do we kill one?" Fran held up a hand to interrupt Wei as he extracted a black-silver tube from the corpse with his multitool.

"Pass me the sample container, Charlie," Fran said, squinting at the cylinder hovering in antigravity. A metal canister materialised in Fran's off-hand, and Fran placed the black-silver cylinder into the canister before dismissing it into subspace.

"In corresponding order to your questions: bioresonance, and bullets. Or a specific radio frequency," Fran said as he continued to dig. "Upon entering the room, we were bombarded with paracausal signals by this fellow. Upon neutralising the signal with the Arc streams in my helmet–" Fran paused to point a blood-soaked finger at his head, "–I regained consciousness. I attempted to make contact with it by broadcasting on the frequency it was hitting us with, but that just made its head explode."

Wei Jie glanced at the room, and at the splatter of reddish-grey mass on the ceiling. "So that's how that got up there," he said wryly. "Picking up bad habits from Hafiz, aren't we?" he teased. "You know that everyone's joking when they say that you're more Titan than Warlock, right?"

"Haha, laugh it up, mister 'Best Gunslinger in the Tower'," Fran chuckled. His tone became serious again, "The Kolibri appeared to be manifesting multiple illusory copies of itself before I accidentally killed it. So if we see a crowd of these things, there's probably only one or two real ones. I didn't get to test it, but plain old Light and bullets work fine on them." He tapped the Replika's chest. "Light armour, about as durable as the stuff you'd see on a Psion. One clean shot should kill them."

"How do we stop that scream?"

Fran shrugged. "Install Arc emitters in your helmets? It works for me. Other than that I don't have any better suggestions. Those things were barely visible on radar before we saw them visually."

Wei Jie sighed. "Great, you're gonna mutilate more of my gear?"

"Hey, if you want to get knocked out by a psychic tumour, be my guest," Fran snarked.

"So where's Hafiz?" Wei Jie looked around. The Titan and his Ghost were nowhere in sight.

"They left to do a little scouting," Fran replied, distracted. "Sparkles can show you the direction he left in. Now let me have some peace and quiet, I think I've almost got the secrets of this thing." He raised a bloody hand to shoo Wei Jie away.

Just then, thumping footsteps shook the platform as Hafiz re-emerged from a sideroom. Wei Jie couldn't see his face through the polarised visor, but the slouching Titan was clearly upset. His fists were tightly clenched and his agitated breaths could be heard over the radio.

"Hey Hafiz. What happened?" Wei Jie asked, concerned. "You don't stomp unless something made you upset."

Hafiz turned to look at Wei Jie, pulling off his helmet and grimacing. "There aren't any stars in the sky."

"What?" Wei Jie felt like someone had dumped ice down his shirt. He could hear Fran standing up behind him.

Hafiz closed his eyes, looking like he wanted to punch something. "There's nothing outside of Leng. Some paracausal force has trapped us all here on this iceball of a rock. Like there's a damn shell covering the entire moon."

The radio erupted in frantic chatter.

 

[lvl90001000]

If I remember correctly, don't Kolibri corpses disappear after leaving the room? I always wondered if that was an oversight or a sign of other fun things happening.

 

[ltmauve]

After a minute of adjusting, Fran found the energy to speak. "What happened?"

"Long story. I should let the Warlock explain. He and Charlie know more than I or Sidonia do on this issue. He's been cutting up the thing that knocked you all out."

Fran nodded, flushing Solar energies through his body. The discomfort lessened, and he stood back up. He could see Fran-11 slice away at a bulbous, fleshy object, occasionally pausing to take notes on his wrist computer or store samples in airtight containers. Gore and blood were splattered all around them. The thing had been peeled open, its grotesquely oversized head looking like the world's worst flower in bloom. Charlie hovered around Fran, taking scans of the body. The two spoke in low tones. Sidonia and Hafiz were nowhere to be found.

Fran unholstered his cannon and checked it before holstering it again, then took unsteady steps towards the Warlock.

Click to shrink...

Are all these instances of "Fran" supposed to be "Wei Jie?"

 

[Not_Interesting]

If I remember correctly, don't Kolibri corpses disappear after leaving the room? I always wondered if that was an oversight or a sign of other fun things happening.

Click to shrink...

That would be cool as heck...but they will most likely vaporize it as soon as Fran is done digging around in it...but it would be funny to see them freak out over a corpse just being gone.